Different coating layers or coating films are applied to the surfaces of electronic devices such as mobile phones, electronic material parts, home appliances, exterior or interior parts for vehicles, and plastic molded products, for the purpose of protecting the products from damage caused by mechanical, physical, or chemical influences from the outside. As scratches occurring on the surface of the product coatings or cracks resulting from external impacts may lead to deterioration of external appearance and main performance of the products and shorten their lifespan, considerable researches have been conducted to protect the surface of the product and thus maintain long-term quality thereof.
Recently, vigorous studies have been underway on coating materials with self-healing capabilities since such materials require no additional coatings and no repairs when being damaged on a surface and have substantial advantages in maintaining external appearance and product performance. Actually, such studies have reported a UV-curable composition using an oligomer demonstrating self-healing capabilities and a composition including inorganic particles or fluorine compounds added therein so as to enhance scratch resistance and stain resistance. However, coating materials obtained from the aforementioned compositions have drawbacks that they can neither have a high level of surface hardness nor show sufficient self-healing capabilities.
Also disclosed were a coating composition including polymers or polymer active substances, or having particles or capsules surface-treated with the polymers and the like. Coating layers made from such compositions demonstrates self-healing capabilities to some extent for the cracks caused by an external impact, but they still have drawbacks such as unsatisfactory mechanical properties including scratch resistance or durability and poor compatibility between the components.